Mitchell Wechsler, Trumpet

J.N. Hummel - Cto. in Eb / 1st. mvt.
(I have other excerpts on file if you would like to hear more)

Thank you for reviewing my material.

Mitch

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MyAuditions,

Johann_Nepomuk_Hummel_,__Concerto_in_Eb_major_-_1st_movement.mp3 (2,252 Kb, 103 downloads) Hummel Concerto - 1st Movement

Hi Mitch,

Sounds great. It's been a while since I've run into you. Glad to hear you playing so well.

I have 2 general comments:

1. Tempo for my taste is a little bit too bright. You might try taking a click or two off and playing with a slightly more leisurely pace. It sometimes sounded a little on top of the beat to me.

2. I love how you show the difference between long and short notes. In my opinion, too many players play everything in the middle. Maybe to make even more of a musical contrast, you could play your lyrical stuff even more lyrically, to contrast the dance music stuff. As Roger Bobo said, "There are only 2 kinds of songs: love songs and pirate songs."

All in all, very fine playing. I'd advance it.

Hello Mitchell,

Very nice playing. I have just a few comments.

1). I agree with Mr. MacCluer about the tempo - I think it needs to have more of a relaxed feeling. It just feels a bit "stressed." Some phrases rush just a tad as well.

2). Your sound, overall, is quite lovely. But, it is a little uneven throughout the various registers. It sounds as if you are using a small instrument which is not your regular instrument (though I don't know this) - try practicing your scales (both slowly and quickly) with this instrument. Aim for developing an even sound and extremely reliable intonation. Also, you can try playing some Arban excercises or other etudes on the small trumpet so that when you return to the concerto it feels more like "home."

Overall, very nice playing! I even listened to it twice. If you have any questions please ask! :-)

Gary Peterson

Dear Mitchell,

You sound great! Very solid playing, and I especially appreciated the soloistic, confident approach.
My only thought was along the lines of creating more contrast. Dave Kreihbel (principal horn, San Francisco, till 98) separates his Mozart concertos into a conversation of playful vs elegant (I've added categories like heroic, mysterious and soulful in my own) and then look at each line and decide which of those it is, or whether it starts as one and ends as another. (mysterious start that ends up heroic). Due to the simple nature of brass concertos, this can be very effective.
I could tell that you were thinking about the contrast in "this section is this style, this one is this", but I think within each section, you could engage the listener even more. I think of it like real second-by-second musical sculpting, which can be explored in multiple ways: color, shaping minutia (esp. ends of phrases), articulation, line direction, time-taking, and energy level.
I loved your opening flair, but thought the 2nd phrase could be more elegant, especially in how you shape the end of it. Then the 3rd phrase, have a different, more mysterious, or sexy color, with a real leaning appogiotura. Then going into the trill you build back into heroic, and with the short phrase-short phrase-long phrase (1,2,3) shape you just created, it'll be all the more exciting for the listener.
In addition to this kind of exaggerated sculpting, you might also think of expanding your palatte of articulations: I think within "long" notes, you can have more obvious "superconnected, thick, dense" tonguing, "very light, long, graceful" tonguing and "sticky, with some ebb and flow within the passage" tonguing. Within short notes, I'd like some that are lighter and on the air stream~ makes you feel excited, and some more accented, dramatic, heroic.
Technically speaking, I thought it was quite sound. The lowest part of the range was a tad rough sounding, but I did like that you didn't shy away from it~ it sounded like a healthy approach.
Great job, and good luck with everything!
Jennifer